Many compositions have been developed for cleaning or coating hard non-porous surfaces. Cleaning compositions often incorporate soil release agents, such as non-surfactant additives applied to a soiled surface as part of a detergent in order to improve soil removal capability of a detergent. Soil release agents are effective by decreasing lubricity of a soiled surface in order to enhance soil removal through mechanical action. Soil release agents are intended for application to soiled surfaces, as application to clean surfaces counterproductively results in attracting soil, causing the surface to become soiled again at a faster rate.
In addition to the difficulty of cleaning hard, non-porous surfaces, once cleaned, it may be difficult to maintain the appearance of the cleaned surface in a satisfactory state. Imparting soil resistance to a clean surface is therefore desirable. Soil resistance is distinct from soil release and acts to minimizes or prevent the adhesion of soil to a treated clean surface.
It is an objective of the claimed invention to develop a soil resistant surface treatment composition for improved soil resistance and cleaning of surfaces, including both porous and/or non-porous surfaces. According to the invention, the soil resistant surface impairs the binding of soil through an intermediary polymer layer which makes it difficult for oily materials to wet the surface and enhances the wetting of water. A further object of the invention is a novel polymeric treatment composition, including soil resistant agents that are polymers and/or copolymers, having a water or organic solvent carrier and methods of using the same to impart soil resistance to a treated surface, such as a clean surface.
A further object of the invention is to provide a method of treating clean surfaces to prevent soils and limit or eliminate adherence to the surfaces.